IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Climate change a threat to national security; Heat wave in the Arctic leads to accelerated melting; Former Governor Sarah Palin, denied; EPA comes clean ... PLUS: 230 miles per gallon? It's on the way... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: 'Cash for Clunkers' --- now with more cash!; 'Astroturfing' --- now with 'Clean Coal'!; 'Roadless areas' --- now without roads! PLUS: Obama talks batteries ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail, really really roadless wilderness for realz this time? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

As we related in yesterday's 'Green News Report,' the federal auto-stimulus program Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) --- popularly nicknamed 'Cash for Clunkers' --- launched this week in earnest. The program is intended to help spur consumers to trade in old gas guzzlers with a virtual cash rebate of up to $4500, in exchange for purchasing a car, truck, or SUV with better (even just slightly better) mileage. After compromising on an initially proposed $4 billion program, Congress approved $1 billion in funding for the program, to be paid directly to car dealers, with a deadline of November 1st to file the paperwork.

Well, not long after airtime yesterday, and just four days after the program began in full, 'Cash for Clunkers' appears to have been so wildly popular that it had already run out of money.

According to the New York Times, the Transportation Department had asked car dealers around the country to stop offering the rebate program while officials determine the next course of action. By late this morning, however, they report, the White House has issued a statement that the program will continue at least through this weekend. "There's apparently too many clunkers and not enough cash," the Times' Richard Change notes.

As of yesterday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had said the program was not suspended, as had initially been reported, and that the administration was "assessing the situation." He added, "all valid CARS transactions that have taken place to date will be honored." Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is said to be working with Congress to discuss ways to increase funding to extend the wildly popular program.

With the rebates ranging from $3,500 to $4,500 --- dependent on the miles per gallon of the trade-in compared to the new car purchased --- the $1 billion in funding was intended to cover about 250,000 new cars. Dealers have been collecting applications for the rebates since July 1st, in advance of the publication of the final rules and qualifying vehicles on Monday. Although the Department of Transportation reports a backlog of applications waiting to be processed, they reported they had already received approximately a quarter million applications as of Thursday night.

UPDATE: The U.S. House passed a bill late Friday to provide an additional $2 billion in funding for the CARS program, by diverting funds from a Department of Energy loan guarantee program. The Senate is expected to act next week, although CNN.com reports the "bill will face tough opposition in the Senate."

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: China & the U.S., together again; Canada's Tar Sands - still dirty!; the Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone - still dead! ... PLUS: Cash for Clunkers ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

UPDATE:Shortly after airtime of the report above, which discusses the new "Cash for Clunkers" program, it was announced that the wildly popular program had already run out of the money Congress had allotted to it --- after just four days! Details now here...

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (links below): Krugman: Is the threat of speculation a reason to shun cap and trade?; Tropical deforestation and its impact on global warming; Colorado Solar Customers Fuming Over Proposed Fee... PLUS: Could algae be the solution for biodiesel?...

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: End of the 'free ride' for mining companies?; Swine flu surges again.... PLUS: Sarah Palin was for 'Cap-and-Trade' before she was against it... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (links below): The incandescent bulb is back; Nanotechnology literally carpets solar panels in 3-D efficiency; Discarded food finds new life as electricity ... PLUS: The world surges ahead of the U.S. in the Green Energy Revolution...

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Bush smacked down on smog; Texans told to conserve; Naked & recycled .... PLUS: The 50th Anniversary of the nation's first --- and worst --- nuclear accident ... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (links below): Obama warns of return of swine flu in the fall --- and how to be prepared!; How does your grocery store rate on sustainable seafood?... PLUS: China seeks worldwide dominance in clean energy...

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail, evidence the world is only 6,000 years old? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (links below): Wind energy myths debunked by two new reports, while T. Boone Pickens drops plans for world's largest wind farm; Bad news for Arctic ice from NASA ... PLUS: 7 Surprising Sources of Indoor Air Pollution and How to Eliminate Them --- Do you know what's affecting your indoor air quality?

Info/links on those stories and all the ones we talked about on today's episode follow below...

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Will the climate change in the Senate over climate change legislation?; ExxonMobil pays up & pays out; Universal cell phone charger for the EU, but not for you!... PLUS: Nuclear Power vs. Summer...All that and more in today's Green News Report!

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: California wins one for a change; Where's the beef? Recalled!; Did EPA suppress study from global warming skeptic?... PLUS: Wingnuts lose it over cap-and-trade...All that and more in today's 'End of the World' Green News Report!